Dear Editor:
The city has uncovered road salt storage outside. Rain falls on the salt. Salt dissolves in the rain and washes into our sewer system. We have a combined sewer system so water from storms goes into the same pipes as residential waste water. Depending on the amount of rain falling, that sewage is either discharged directly into the Hudson or treated at the sewage plant and discharged into the Hudson. If discharged directly into the Hudson, the dissolved salt has an adverse effect on the salt balance in the Hudson. If processed by our sewage treatment plant, the dissolved salt has an adverse effect on the microorganisms that digest our sewage.
I am NOT advocating the city build an expensive specialized salt storage facility or buy an expensive prefabricated salt storage silo. Covering the salt with a good tarp anchored by some weights to keep the tarp from blowing away would be quite sufficient to prevent the salt from getting washed away in the rain. Protecting the environment does not have to be expensive or difficult. Sometimes a little caring and leadership is all that is necessary.
Protecting our road salt from the rain has the added benefit of improving the ability of the salt to flow. Dry salt clumps less than wet salt. As the city begins to emulate Hudson County’s effective use of brine, it becomes critical for the city to be able to create the oatmeal like mix described as most effective in research done by the Vermont DOT. Good dry salt is a key part of this mix. Sometimes protecting our environment has unexpected positive benefits.
Paul Lichstein